Even in the direst of times, people with business to do find the time to gather in person to help to solve the particular problems of their little corner of the world. No, last week’s CIMM Conference at the ARF, aka the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement at the Advertising Research Foundation, wasn’t quite up … Read more
This should have been a piece that ran Friday, in advance of the premiere of CBS and Sony’s new game show RAID THE CAGE. Well, actually, it’s only new in the U.S. As The NEW YORK POST’s Michael Starr reminded, it’s already been established in plenty of other territories around the globe: It’s based on … Read more
AVATAR 2: THE WAY OF WATER. GRAN TURISMO. SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE. BARBIE. Collectively, these four films released over the last 12 months raked in over $4.5 BILLION DOLLARS in box office revenue–nearly $1.75 BILLION DOLLARS in the US alone. Heck, I even saw two of them in theatres. These were not mere hits. They … Read more
Imagine if experience had been a requirement for one of the most iconic roles in movie history. Lana Turner, Katherine Hepburn, Loretta Young, Helen Hayes, and even Lucille Ball all auditioned for Gone with the Wind’s Scarlett O’Hara. But according to SLATE’s Rebecca Onion, it appearently wasn’t: The producer David O. Selznick took more than two years … Read more
Ted Sarandos had the cameras turned on him yesterday at the Bloomberg Screentime Conference, hours after he apparently led the Gang of Four ostensibly attempting to work a deal with the union that represents those who do it best out the door in a hissy-fit that have now stalled negotiations and has yet again brought … Read more
This is a story about the legendary John Gilbert. No, not the venerable announcer of JEOPARDY and one-time emcee of MUSIC BINGO, still going strong today in his late 90s. The one that died more than 80 years ago and never saw his 40th birthday. When Louis B. Mayer, cofounder of MGM, wanted to break … Read more
At a time when we could all use something to distract us from other news, FRASIER’s long-awaited return drops today on Paramount+, and not a moment too soon. It’s been waaaaay too long since we were able to get a visit from Dr. Crane, and if ever we needed a good session with a Harvard-degreed … Read more
Would you have swooned over someone named Archie Leech? Would you have been afraid of a showdown with someone named Marion Morrison? In classic Hollywood, many studio executives felt there would have been no way you could have felt that way. Many of the Old Hollywood stars you know and love—Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Judy … Read more
It was both poignant and ironic that I had just left the FOX lot in Century City when I saw this alert flash onto my phone at a traffic light. Per DEADLINE’s Erik Pedersen: Jonathan Dolgen, a respected longtime entertainment industry executive known for his tough dealmaking and attention to budgets while chairman of Viacom … Read more
We celebrate Hollywood and its great history in these HOLLYWOOD FACTOIDS, which will continue through the end of this week before fading into obscurity. (Perhaps not, if perhaps the call to action at the top and the bottom of this musing is finally heeded). But have you ever wondered why Hollywood even exists in the … Read more